/m/television

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In most circumstances you'd file this under who cares, but if you talk to fans of other sports they are convinced baseball is dying and their sport will take over, flimsy arguments based almost entirely on World Series TV ratings and how "nobody plays baseball anymore".

When you point out that almost as many people watch the Mets as watch the Knicks and Nets combined game to game, or that local MLB kills the NBA or NHL Finals in every city except the two teams that are playing, or how MLB left the NBA in the dust when it came to revenue growth from the mid-90s to today, they act shocked.

if you talk to fans of other sports they are convinced baseball is dying and their sport will take over, flimsy arguments based almost entirely on World Series TV ratings and how "nobody plays baseball anymore".

if you talk to fans of other sports they are convinced baseball is dying and their sport will take over, flimsy arguments based almost entirely on World Series TV ratings and how "nobody plays baseball anymore".

And as a game, Wednesday's game 1 was probably the best in a Stanley Cup final since games 5 of 6 of Stars vs. Devils in 2000, both of which went multiple overtimes.

Would the ratings have been as good Wednesday had it been Dallas-New Jersey, rather than Boston-Chicago? Certainly not. Neither is an "original six" franchise (although both have been in their current locations for at least 20 years, and I think the difference between "original six" and some of the older expansion teams such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh or Los Angeles continues to diminish as years go on), and while Dallas-Fort Worth is arguably the best all-around sports market in the Sun Belt (it's not just for football anymore), the Devs have struggled to gain an identity despite winning the Cup three times. But that's what happens when the face of the franchise is a goalie (Brodeur).

Baseball won the battle in seven other NHL markets, including Tampa-St. Petersburg (by 46%), Dallas (by 139%), Philadelphia (by 30%), Washington D.C. (by 9%), Los Angeles (by 11%) and the Bay Area — where the Giants and Athletics beat Game 1 by 99% and 36%, respectively.

While some of those cities have NHL teams, it just sounds funny calling LA or Tampa/St. Pete NHL markets. Really, just a phrasing thing for me.

When you point out that almost as many people watch the Mets as watch the Knicks and Nets combined game to game, or that local MLB kills the NBA or NHL Finals in every city except the two teams that are playing, or how MLB left the NBA in the dust when it came to revenue growth from the mid-90s to today, they act shocked.

What about the reverse though? What are the local ratings for the WS in local markets vs regular season NBA and/or NHL games? We can't get any hockey numbers from last year, but was there any overlap with the start of the NBA season and the SF/Det games? I'd be surprised if the WS outdrew most non Pistons or Warriors games in their NBA cities.

Also, I am a little surprised the Mets TV viewing beat the Knicks, much less the Nets too, this year especially.